This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring Deb Otis, the Director of Research and Policy at FairVote, a nonpartisan organization seeking better elections in America through two key reforms: 1. Ranked choice voting and 2. Proportional representation in Congress.  Deb is a passionate and experienced civic activist and an expert on comparative electoral systems.  

I wanted to have Deb on the show to learn more about FairVote’s two big ideas for reforming American elections and understand why she and her colleagues think they are so crucial for our democracy.  Whether it’s extreme voter dissatisfaction with Congress, low voter turnout in local elections, gerrymandered partisan primaries, or debates about the efficacy of the Electoral College and mail-in voting, there’s no shortage of concern about our democratic processes these days.  Fortunately, reformers like Deb and previous Nick Halaris Show guest Nick Troiano of Unite America, are stepping forward with practical reforms designed to make our elections more adequately reflect the actual will of the people.  

Tune in to this important episode to learn:  

• How ranked-choice voting works and why it might be a better option
• What proportional representation is and how it could improve Congressional function by changing the incentive structures of politics
• Why we should also pursue both primary reform and campaign finance reform are necessary
• Ideas for improving voter engagement
• & Much, much more

Stay tuned to the end to learn how an early interest in politics and experiences working on the ground in campaigns inspired Deb to commit her life to protecting and improving our democracy.  

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode.  Thanks for tuning in!      

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This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring fintech educator, investor, and financial literacy advocate, Dara Albright.  Dara is a Board Member of Worthy, a fintech company providing unique fixed-income products for retail investors.  She’s also a newsletter author, podcaster, and frequent media contributor.

Ready to dive in? Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube or on your favorite podcast platform.

I wanted to have Dara on the show to learn more about Worthy’s innovative fixed-income product and to highlight her important work around improving financial literacy and leveling the playing field in the investment business.

Tune in to this important episode to learn:  

• How Worthy managed to sell almost $250M in Worthy Bonds yielding 7% and priced in $10 increments 

• How Worthy’s innovative “roundup” feature is helping investors save and invest more

• Why the current regulatory framework for investment disadvantages a large number of Americans 

• Ideas for how we might create a fairer playing field for investors and entrepreneurs  

• & Much, much more

Stay tuned to the end to learn how working in high finance exposed Dara to the unfairness and inequity in our financial system and sent her on a mission to innovate, advocate, and fight for a fairer world.  Dara also shares how she uses stoicism as a framework for personal growthnavigating difficult situations. 

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode.  Thanks for tuning in!      

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This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring Pablo Arredondo, the Vice President of CoCounsel at Thomson Reuters, an AI-driven legal service that is revolutionizing the industry.  Pablo, one of my closest friends from Stanford Law School, is a legal tech entrepreneur with an incredible track record of success.  He’s been at the forefront of the industry for fifteen years, co-founded Casetext in 2013, which sold to Thompson Reuters earlier this year, and has played a huge role in the development of AI tools for the legal world.       

Ready to dive in? Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube or on your favorite podcast platform.

I wanted to have Pablo on the show to explore just how powerful these new AI technologies are, see where the industry is headed, and examine their potential impacts on our economy, society, and culture.  As you’ll see in the episode, Pablo is a very dynamic thinker, has thought deeply about these issues, and is ideally positioned as a thought leader in the burgeoning AI legal tech world.  

Tune in to this fascinating episode to learn:  

• What Co-Counsel’s Legal AI can do and why we should all be so excited by it
• Why AI should improve issues of access and affordability in legal services and potentially address other systemic issues plaguing the industry/justice system
• Why AI technology is fundamentally deflationary but not necessarily destructive when it comes to jobs
• What “slop” is and why we should care about it
• & Much, much more

Stay tuned to the end to hear some highlights from Pablo’s entrepreneurial journey and learn why he thinks that people losing the ability to write could be one of the biggest downsides of the rise of AI.  

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode.  Thanks for tuning in!

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This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring my friend Sarah Dusseault, a prominent local civic activist and the lead strategist at LA4LA, a first-of-its-kind government, philanthropy and private sector alliance formed to unlock affordable housing options in Los Angeles at scale and speed.  She’s also my colleague at the Angeleno Project and one of the most dedicated, passionate, and professional civic activists I’ve ever come across. 

I wanted to have Sarah on the show to shine a big spotlight on all the important work she’s doing in the region and to get her insider perspective on some of the big issues we’ve been covering here like the housing affordability crisis, homelessness, and the substance abuse and mental health crises.  As someone with decades of experience in policy and activism, who has worked in and out of government at the highest levels, and served on a bunch of high-profile commissions, I knew Sarah would have a lot to share.  Tune in to this inspiring episode to learn:  

• Why innovation is urgently needed to spur affordable housing production and how LA4LA’s unique alliance can make a difference 
• Why Los Angeles has struggled to develop a cohesive civic identity and its implications on city politics and functioning 
• Why dramatic improvements in access to care for mental health and substance abuse services is crucial to solving the homelessness crisis
• How a holistic approach that prioritizes early intervention, community building, and peer-driven resources can dramatically improve outcomes with mental health and substance abuse
• & Much, much more

Stay tuned to the end to learn the redemptive story of Sarah’s decades-long struggle to help her own brother, who has struggled with mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness, and hear how it has inspired her impressive track record of community work and still fuels her passionate commitment to making Los Angeles a better place for everyone today.    

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode.  Thanks for tuning in!      

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Hi Everyone and Welcome Back!

This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring Francis Barry, the author of “Back Roads and Better Angels,” an important and inspiring new book examining the heart and soul of the American democracy.  Francis, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board there, is a sought-after voice for those seeking more rational and civil discourse and has an impressive track record working to make America a better place as a journalist, speechwriter, and advisor to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  

I read “Back Roads and Better Angels” recently and walked away feeling both inspired and invigorated.  Francis does a masterful job weaving together important, often untold, stories from our history with interesting stories, perspectives, and ideas from real Americans he met on his journey across the country and examinations of the critical cultural and political questions of the day.  For anyone interested in understanding what’s really going on in America, the book is a must read.  

I wanted to have Francis on the show to highlight this important new book and unpack some of his key findings.  Tune in to learn: 

• Why Francis decided to drive across America in a Winnebago in search of the keys to our national identity and our democracy
• The true cause of our feelings of disunity and the secret forces holding us together 
• Why there is so much about American history that we are still reckoning with and why it is our willingness to do so that makes us so special
• How our shared commitment to the ideals of freedom, democracy, and equality provides a cultural glue powerful enough to hold us together even in our darkest hours
• What President Lincoln can teach us about how to keep a democracy together in times of great strife
• & Much, much more

Stay tuned to the end to learn why Francis thinks it’s a shared belief in our resiliency that ultimately holds us together and to hear his passionate plea for a return to civility in our political discourse.

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode.  Thanks for tuning in!      

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This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring Barry Lynn, the Executive Director of the Open Markets Institute, an organization dedicated to using competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, and more innovative and sustainable economies.  Barry, a highly-regarded journalist, is also the author of 3 important books and a sought-after advisor for politicians on both sides of the aisle concerned about things like supply-chain fragility and the extreme concentration of economic power.

I wanted to have Barry on the show to highlight the important work he’s doing at the Open Markets Institute and to try to get a sense of what we might do to improve the competitive landscape in our economy.  You don’t have to do much looking around to realize that we have a monopoly problem in our economy.  A few very large and powerful companies have come to dominate economic life in almost every major industry.  This concentration of power has introduced fragility into our system—as we saw during the COVID lockdown era—and has contributed to other problems like labor market stagnation and wealth inequality.  It’s even harmed our democratic processes as well.  Tune in to this important episode to learn:  

• How the 1999 Earthquake in Taiwan and the subsequent disruptions in the semiconductor industry woke Barry up to the concentration risks in the global economy
• The huge risks to our economy and our democracy from the extreme concentration of economic power in the age of AI
• How it came to be that, until very recently, there wasn’t a single antitrust case filed in the US in several decades
• Why anti-monopoly enforcement is so crucial for creating a better, more efficient, and more equitable economy 
• The positive steps taken by the Biden administration, with the support of many prominent Republicans, in stepping up antitrust enforcement
• & Much, much more

Stay tuned to the end to learn why Barry remains optimistic in the face of these challenges and believes that just by relearning how to use the tools of the past we can make a huge difference in shaping a more competitive future. 

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode.  Thanks for tuning in!      

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This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring Daniel Hettwer, founder and CEO of Hidden Worlds Entertainment, an innovative company responsible for pioneering the Impactainment industry, where businesses try to do good while having fun.  Daniel, a perfect example of a socially conscious entrepreneur, has an inspiring vision for how to merge our ever-present desire for fun experiences with our deep human needs for meaning, connection, and purpose.      

Ready to dive in? Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube or on your favorite podcast platform.

I wanted to have Daniel on the show to highlight his inspiring vision for building the first impactainment business, learn more about what motivates him to care so much about doing good in the world, and unpack the important philosophical and psychological truths that are at the core of his mission.  Tune in to this inspiring episode to learn:

• All about Daniel’s vision for using immersive dining and art experiences to inspire a whole new generation of impact-oriented individuals
• How it’s possible to design a dining experience that is not only delicious and super fun but also completely Ocean-positive with every bite and sip 
• Why good storytelling is the true key to inspiring change in the world 
• How he came up with the idea for impactainment and the huge potential he sees for the industry 
• Why it’s so important for those seeking big social change to move beyond strategies involving shame and blame and focus more on fun, hope, and inspiration
• & Much, much more

Stay tuned to the end to learn how Daniel fell in love with Nature while fishing as a kid and hear why he got so motivated to go all-in on the idea of doing good while having fun.

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode.  Thanks for tuning in!
      

Love thi

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This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring Cristian Ahumada, the Executive Director of Holos Communities, one of the leading non-profit affordable housing developers in Southern California.  Cristian, my friend of many years, is one of the most passionate, impact-focused leaders I’ve ever come across and has a decades-long track record of making a positive difference in the world.  He’s developed over 2000 units of affordable housing, is completely dedicated to ending homelessness, and is a highly respected civic leader. 

Cristian is someone who has been working at the forefront of the housing affordability crisis for decades and has an incredible depth and breadth of knowledge of the problems and opportunities there.  I wanted to have him on the show to get his insider’s take on why we’ve gotten ourselves in such a mess when it comes to homelessness and housing affordability and what we might do to right the ship.  As a for-profit multifamily developer who has barely survived the buzzsaw that is Los Angeles, I can attest firsthand just how impressive it is that he’s been able to have such a big impact on the world as a non-profit developer.  Tune in to this inspiring episode to learn: 

• Cristian’s compelling holistic vision for addressing homelessness, housing affordability, climate change, and racial inequity  
• How the current system inadvertently creates a welfare state rather than providing economic mobility for individuals experiencing homelessness
• Why public transit investment and big zoning changes are the core of the solution to the housing crisis 
• How economic segregation has come to replace racial segregation and what that means for the American Dream
• What we can learn from Vienna on how to create a country where housing is affordable for everyone
• & Much, much more

Stay tuned to the end to learn how Cristian’s experiences growing up in Chile with a mom who believed in a life of service and a grandmaster father, who taught him resiliency through chess, fueled his passion for trying to make the world a better place and taught him the skills necessary to thrive as a non-profit leader in the very competitive world of real estate development.  

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode.  Thanks for tuning in!

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This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring Nathan Labenz, a founder of Waymark, a company using AI to help businesses easily make compelling marketing videos, and the host of a very popular AI-focused podcast called Cognitive Revolution. As you all know by now, Nathan is a gifted thinker and communicator, the world’s best AI scout, and one of the most sought-after voices and thought leaders in the industry. 

In part one of this interview, which dropped last week, we learned about the incredible positive potential of AI technology.  Nathan shared with us a compelling vision for a future with less drudgery and suffering and vastly greater and more widespread material prosperity.  This week we examine the other side of the coin and ask what could go wrong here.  Tune in to this fascinating and sobering episode to learn:

• Why Nathan and many other AI scientists believe we shouldn’t underestimate the potential dangers of AI
• The theoretical basis behind the fears that AI systems might develop their own ideas, optimize against humans, or deceive us for their own benefit
• Why Nathan thinks we would be better off focusing on implementing AI in its current state across our economy than racing to develop ever more powerful systems
• Why we need to give time and resources for scientists to catch -up and understand how these systems are actually working
• How close we might be to Artificial General Intelligence
• Why the stakes couldn’t be higher in our race with China to develop the best, most useful AI and how that’s problematic in the context of our AI safety concerns
• & Much, much more

Stay tuned to the end to learn Nathan’s compelling ideas for establishing a better path for our economic relations with China and hear his vision for a global AI governance structure.

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode.  Thanks for tuning in!

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This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring Nathan Labenz, a founder of Waymark, a company using AI to help companies easily make compelling marketing videos, and the host of the Cognitive Revolution podcast.  Nathan, our first guest on the show who went to my high school, has carved out a niche for himself in the crowded online world as an AI scout and is fast becoming one of the most sought-after voices in the industry.  

I have been thinking a ton about AI lately and wanted to have Nathan on the show to get some intelligent insider perspectives on what’s really going on in the space.  What you are about to hear is part one of a two-part interview where Nathan delivers a tour de force on the AI landscape.  We explore the big questions everyone wants to ask about AI, the good, the bad, and the ugly of the AI world, and what’s trending and why.  In this episode, we learn what led Nathan down the path of AI, what motivates his important work as a thought leader, and why AI has the potential to be a force for great good in the world.  Tune in to this fascinating episode to learn: 

• How a paper by prominent AI scientist Eliezer Yudkowsky opened Nathan’s eyes to the potential and dangers of AI
• How an experience at Waymark, while serving as CEO, helped Nathan realize the revolutionary potential of AI 
• Why Nathan believes AI, if handled responsibly, has immense potential to dramatically improve our world, reduce human suffering, and usher in an unprecedented era of human prosperity 
• What a post-AI world might look like and why we might need to start thinking about a new social contract  
• & Much, much more

In part two of the interview, which will drop next week, we get into the other side of AI story and explore what could go wrong and why.  We also examine disturbing trends already at play in the industry and discuss ideas on what we could/should do to make things safer.  This is another fascinating conversation that you will not want to miss!

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode.  Thanks for tuning in!

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